The apartment in Foster Spring Avenue
by maymay74
Summary: When Alice found the perfect job in Italy, her best friend and her uncle were ready to help with the care of her pets. Who would've thought that was the beginning of something magical? B/E Short story.
1. Chapter 1

"OMG! Bella! I got it!" The high pitched voice of Alice Cullen came blaring through the speakerphone. Surely, Bella knew better than to take Alice's calls in that way, but Bella was in a hurry. She had to deliver the monthly graphs and somehow she dropped the flash memory containing them under her desk.

She lifted her head instinctively, bumping against the desk.

"Ouch!"

"Hey! Bella? Are you there? It's just that I'm so happy. You can't see me, but I'm jumping and twirling around my studio."

By now, Bella managed to cradle the receiver between her ear and her shoulder.

"The joys of being your boss. So what happened that has you so excited, Ali?"

"Remember that internship at Grushenka's headquarters? Well, I got it! I'm going to Milan, I'm going to Milan..." Alice began to sing

Bella smiled. Grushenka WAS the best designer according to Alice, and she didn't get the recognition she deserved. Again Alice's words. So when Alice, who already worked as a costume designer for a small TV sitcom, heard Grushenka was opening the doors of her studio for new interns, she went crazy sending her best designs. And it seemed like her hard work paid off.

"I'm going three months to Milan to work at her atelier. Could you imagine it? I can almost dream that beauty we will create together."

"That's great Alice. I'm so happy for you."

"And now I'm so busy. I have many, many things to settle. I have to deliver a few documents before two and find my passport of course. Then I have to pack, or maybe I won't. Imagine all the new clothes I can buy! Perhaps packing a few necessities, panties, socks, pajamas, my toothbrush..."

Bella let Alice talk for a while. As much as she loved her best friend, she tended to get absorbed, and Bella needed to find that memory before noon.

Suddenly, Bella found it.

"Yes!"

"Are you still with me? Oh, Bella. I may need a little favor. You know that now that I won't be around for our exercise session..."

Bella was so happy to find the elusive flash memory that she agreed without really paying attention.

"Sure."

"Ok. Then it's settled. I'll tell Mr. Stone that you'll be coming early in the morning so he'll let you in the building. Anyway, I'm going to get the other two copies of my keys so you'll get in easily. Don't worry, Irina doesn't need as much as food and water, and her litter box changed. Felix is more complicated, he needs to walk around and to leave the kitchen closed because that nasty boy can climb over the counter and always makes a mess..."

"What?" That was the moment when Bella realized she agreed blindly to help Alice with the pets.

"I'm sure you won't have any problem. I'll leave the gym door closed but you know how to open the door, just don't let Irina or Felix inside because it's dangerous for them. Well, I'll leave you. I still have to call Mom, and I'll text Emmett to tell him you'll be in charge of Felix so expect an email from him. I swear he babies that crazy dog to the point of ridicule! Bye, hun. Love you."

Bella still had the receiver two minutes after Alice hung up.

* * *

Hi! This is going to be a short story, I'll be posting short chapters weekly. The idea of this story came from an old Cosmopolitan article about the weirdest place/person to have sex. Mind you, I found one answer so funny and awkward, that I have to make it a fic.

If by any chance, you were reading my other stories, let me assure you I didn't abandon any of them. I just found a great job that took all my time. I'm finally managing to have some free time and came back to what became my 'life-saving hobby'. Between work and trying to edit my older stories, I've been busy, but I promise you, all will be finished and may be edited to look better. I gave me a year to get everything right, and that may sound like a lot of time, but believe me, I'm swamped with work so making a bit of time for writing and find the 'mood' to write is quite difficult sometimes.

Anyway, I hope you'll find this story fun and if you want to leave a comment, I'll be so happy to read it. See you next week :)


	2. Chapter 2

Seven o'clock in the morning, a week after that infamous call. Bella was still half asleep but her duties as the guardian of Irina and Felix started today. When she finally got the chance to talk with Alice again, she found out that she only had to come by in the morning because Alice asked her uncle to come by in the afternoon.

After greeting the old doorman Mr. Stone, Bella climbed the elevator, pushing the bottom to the penthouse, always marveling at the luxury her best friend was used to. Alice came from a well-off family and was doing well monetarily. Emmett, her boyfriend who came from the same town, worked as a stunt and trained actors for action films. All in all, both managed to secure a giant penthouse in a nice building, nothing compared to the dingy one-bedroom closet that Bella called 'her home' where you have to climb the four sets of stairs because the elevator was out of order most of the time. 'But then, I'm in a wonderful shape' Bella thought trying to find the silver lining in her sad situation.

Finally, reaching the penthouse's door, Bella opened the door to find herself thrown to the floor by an enthusiastic pitbull.

"Hi, Felix!" She managed to say between dog licks. "Let me get up and give you breakfast. Where's Irina?"

Bella struggled to close the door, as Felix was still trying to lick her face. But soon she found herself walking to the kitchen when something almost fell upon her head and crashed on the floor.

"Damn!" She lifted her face, just to come face to face with the only animal she wasn't comfortable around. "Irina! Get down, you crazy cat from hell."

Irina was a beautiful white cat that Alice adopted a few months ago. Bella still remembered the day they decided to get a companion, and up to the shelter, they went. If Bella was honest, it was love at first sight for Alice and Irina. With Alice's love for all girly things and Irina being such a feminine cat, all white with blue eyes and a knack for wearing pink ribbons, those two were a match made in heaven. She was like Dutchess from the Aristocats. Irina made that fancy pink bedazzled collar rock. It was a shame she and Bella never got along. Bella chose to adopt an old big fat cat named Mr. Doobs and a tiny kitten who was bullied by his brothers and came to hide under Mr. Doobs. Yeah, quite the opposite. But Bella loved her cats to pieces, they were her only companion at home, and somehow, they worked as a family.

Irina just stared at Bella and lifted her pink nose in disdain.

"Right, well if that's the case, then maybe I will take back home this little package of treats." Bella waved the package in front of Irina, who just stood still until Bella left the kitchen.

"Now, let's see. I'm going to clean your plates and then give you some food." She talked to the cat and the dog, knowing they would understand her. "Then I'm going to get to the gym and when I finish I'll take you to a walk around the block." Felix waved its tail enthusiastically.

One of the pegs of being friends with Emmett was that he destined an entire area of the penthouse as a gym. Of course, because he needed to be in shape, but as he also trained actors, he needed a place free of the press or any curious fan. Emmett also designed a routine for Bella. Let's just say her last boyfriend didn't like it when Bella dumped his violent ass so Bella asked Emmett to show her a few moves.

Once changed into yoga pants and a tank top, Bella smiled. "Hmm, I think I'm beginning to like this new routine."

She turned on the speakers to Dua Lipa's One kiss to begin her routine while two tails waved back from the hallway as Irina and Felix watched her exercise in hopes to get a treat from their cheerful carer.

* * *

Next chapter, we will hear Edward.


	3. Chapter 3

Edward Cullen was driving through the traffic, a hip-hop song blaring through the speakers of his car. He was bopping his head to the rhythm of the song, not finding it quite satisfactory.

"Nope. This won't do." He replayed the song, trying to find what was the part he didn't like.

At 40, Edward was a renowned music producer. While driving, he was hearing the new song for a young rapper who believed he was God's gift to mankind, Lil' Embry. He was only producing the song because the kid's manager was his friend. But it was taking all his patience to make a song that was not only to his liking, but one to appease the kid's ego. God forbid this didn't turn out a hit!

An incoming call distracted him.

"Hi, Uncle Edward!" It was the chirpy voice of his niece, Alice. "I have great news. I just got accepted to make an internship at Grushenka's atelier in Milan! Could you believe it?"

Oh, Alice. The apple in Edward's eye.

After the tragic loss of his only daughter Bree over a car accident, Edward turned his love and affection toward his little niece. She loved Edward as he always let her get away with murder, causing his poor older brother Carlisle to have an almost entirely grey hair. It was no surprise when Alice chose UCLA to further her education, and later she decided to stay in LA. After all, she had her cool uncle Edward to look over her.

"That's great Alice. congratulations."

"The thing is, I need a bit of help."

"Whatever you need, just name it."

"Well, just, you know, keep an eye on our mail, let me know if any package comes. The usual."

"Sure Alice, that won't be a problem."

"And there's another little thing. I'm leaving Irina and Felix home. A friend of mine is watching for them in the morning, but I will feel so much better if you just, you know, keep an eye on them."

"Don't worry. I'll get around daily." Edward didn't find it difficult to check on Alice's pets, he could use the equipment Emmet had in his gym while he was checking on them. "When will Emmett come back?"

"In a couple of weeks, I think."

"Hmm."

Edward wasn't completely sold on Emmett, though Carlisle and Esme swore he walked on water. The man was completely different from Alice. Where Alice was petite, Emmett was a muscled giant. Where Alice was delicate, Emmett was gross. And don't let him start on Emmett's crass humor. The man laughed when someone farted for Christ's sake! He only began to tolerate Emmett because of Felix. The man adopted the dog after one of the leading actors of a film dumped it. Seems like the actor got a pitbull to help with his manly image, only to find that Felix is as goofy as they came, not ferocious or violent. That was when Edward reluctantly admitted Emmett had a good heart, clearly buried under his childish ways. So Edward tried to change his mind about him if only for Alice's sake.

"Oh, come on! Uncle Eddie, you know he has a crazy schedule! It wasn't his fault that they decided to reshoot that fighting scene."

"He's always away Alice."

"But that's his work. And it isn't like I'm always at home. "

What Edward didn't dare to tell Alice, was that he has a suspicion about Emmett's 'crazy schedule'. His previous film was started by Jennifer Lawrence, and last year he trained Gal Gadot for a video. Not to diminish Alice's beauty, but the man spent most of his days surrounded by beautiful and famous women and fewer days professing his love for Alice. And Edward knew how easy was to get lost in that environment.

"...but then when I come back I'll be carrying too many clothes, don't you think?"

Edward realized that he zoned out while still having Alice on the phone.

"Pack whatever you deem appropriate. I'm pretty sure you'll need a different wardrobe over there. I mean, the weather is different right?" He hoped Alice didn't notice he got lost in his thoughts.

"So, can you go to check on Irina after work?" Alice's pleaded while Edward knew he would give in.

"Sure, as long as your friend understands that I..."

"She will!" Alice interrupted him. She was aware of Edward's opinion of her friends. "She's nothing like that and I swear to you, she'll be there early in the morning to take Felix out and will clean and she won't bother you."

Edward wasn't sure he would like Alice's friend, he never did. But if she kept her schedule, maybe, just maybe, they would never see each other. And poor Irina and Felix, they needed someone to worry about them, right?

* * *

I'm really thankful for your interest in this story. It is my way to recover my 'writing mojo'. The next chapter will be about Edward again.

See you!


	4. Chapter 4

Mr. Stone waved Edward as he entered the building. He was so glad people cared about Alice and Emmett enough to come to check on their pets and mail.

"Morning Mr. Cullen!"

"Hi Mr. Stone, how is your son doing in Arizona?" Edward asked, aware that asking little personal questions towards the people who cared about his niece would keep him informed. Like, how Emmet spent most of his time away, or how much Alice depended on her little friend Bella for everything, from keeping the apartment clean because the woman who did the cleaning also cleaned Bella's apartment and Bella was the one who kept them into her good graces as Alice was a slob. About the pet care, he found Bella took Felix for a walk daily. Ah, if only this Bella girl was as good as she seemed! But in Edward's experience, all of Alice's friends were immature vain and self-centered. Well, as long as she kept her part of the deal, and tend to the pets in the mornings, he would be fine.

Edward opened the penthouse's door, only to be greeted by a small white cat with a little bug at her paws.

"Meow." Irina pushed the gift towards Edward's feet.

"Oh, Irina. you're such a sweet lady." He gently scratched Irina's head while hiding his disgust over the dead bug. He didn't want to hurt Irina's feelings as she made the effort to get him the poor animal from God's knows where.

Then the sound of something crashing made him hurry to close the door.

"Felix?"

The dog was jumping from side to side, throwing his plate to the wall to let Edward know it was empty.

"Give me a second, I just arrived!" Edward claimed while putting the bags from the grocery store in the kitchen. Both pets came running to him.

Felix happily wagged his tail, while sniffing Edward's legs. He was so glad someone came to visit!

"I don't know how does Alice manages with you." Edward was trying to open a can of cat's food while thinking about how petite Alice took this big dog to walk around the street.

He hurried serving food and filling plates with water, as he planned to workout with Lil' Embry song to take notes on what changes would be needed. He had two weeks to finish with this song before the beginning of his next project.

"Ok, let's see if I can finally get it over!" He started with the treadmill, bopping his head to the rhythm of Lil' Embry rapping about the female form with a colorful vocabulary.

Half an hour later, amused by the gigantic number of synonyms for the female backside, Edward moved to the rowing machine when he noticed a couple of towels hiding under the machine.

"Fuck!" He was disgusted. Who knew what did soil the fabric? Sweat? "And here I was thinking this Bella girl was cleaner." He shook his head in disgust and took the towels out to the laundry room.

"Should I leave a note?" He asked himself while looking to Irina turning her nose up. "You're right, I'll give her one chance. Maybe she was in a hurry?"

xxx

Bella was a bit distracted the next morning. She was sure she would get the Volturi's account because no one could handle that volume of data in so little time. Yet...

"I know Irina," she was petting the reluctant cat, "if only it was a matter of capacity without acknowledging that some men like to, you know, flirt with the poor accountant." Bella hung her head in shame, remembering her failed attempts to look flirty or give sultry stares to clients. "Maybe if I wear a tighter skirt?"

Felix huffed, not liking how his daily visitor seemed so dejected.

"Yeah Felix, you're right." She petted the dog's head. "I couldn't live with myself if I get an account based on my body and not on my working skills." She nodded with conviction. "Volturi and Newton can kiss my sweet ass." She patted said ass while dropping pieces of meat in both animal plates. "What? You deserve something special," she scratched behind Irina's ears, "I'm sure you miss Alice and Emmett. You deserve something special occasionally."

Her time training was as satisfying as usual, but she made sure to get five minutes on the punching bag to let out her frustrations.

"Take that Michael H. Newton!" she kicked. "You can take your wandering hands and shove it where the sun doesn't shine!"

After kicking up the punching bag, she went beside the barbel rack to turn off the lights of the gym. She noticed the floor was wet.

"Eww!" She tiptoed around the equipment. "Where does this come from?"

After a thorough examination of the gym, she found a squashed bottle of water. "And I thought Alice's uncle was a tidy bordering on OCD picky old man." She said, holding the offending plastic bottle. The memories of Carlisle Cullen coming. His almost white hair and impeccable manners made her believe his younger brother was similar to him. Carlisle was 65, so maybe the 'younger' Cullen sibling was 64? She was thinking that maybe, just maybe the elusive Uncle Edward wasn't the respectable stiff old man she thought. Maybe he was the quirky one, you know? Every family, including the snooty Cullens, has one.

"Oh, and every rich family has one black sheep that keep embarrassing the 'Family'." She was nodding, smiling, thinking Alice's family wasn't as perfect as she always boasted. "There's always the one who shames the whole family," she laughed, thinking about her own family. Uncle Augustus used to brag he was a spy. Yeah, she wasn't one to complain about family.

* * *

Sorry, I was busy with the planning of the annual closing. You'll find the next chapter today too.


	5. Chapter 5

Edward opened the apartment door cautiously, he knew Felix would be jumping on him.

But the door opened easily and no one was behind it. No one was waiting for him.

"Uh?"

He carefully poised the bag of treats on the floor and called for the pets.

"Psst, psst! Felix? Irina?"

To his surprise, the apartment was clean and quiet. He's been coming to check on the pets for a couple of weeks now and Alice's friend was doing something right because he found the pets calmed and happy. Maybe the towel incident was an accident. Maybe she wasn't an irresponsible brat like Alice's other friends. While he was walking through the living room looking for the pets, his mind was flooded with images of bubbly young girls, who always managed to let him know they knew how to sing. Ha. Howls and screeching was a more precise description of the sounds coming from those teenagers.

Then, the house phone rang.

"Hi, Alice!" It was Emmett's voice. "Or whoever is at our home now. Could you please let Alice know that I called but she never answered? We're going to shoot a fight scene in a remote part with no cell phone signal, and we'll be out of reach for a few days."

"Uff." Edward huffed. It was the lamest excuse and he didn't even call Alice with some term of endearment.

"Anyway, I was hoping that... Yes, I'm coming!" Emmett yelled to someone on the other side of the line. "Ok, Bella or Edward or anybody who's listening, I'll have new gym equipment delivered by the end of the week. Mr. Stone is too old to lift the boxes so I would like for you to push it to the elevator and store it in the gym. I'll assemble it when I get back. Hug Felix for me. So, see you soon."

Edward was counting to a hundred backward to calm himself. The nerve of this man! What a way to abuse everybody's patience and time! According to Alice, Emmett was supposed to be back by the end of the week. And Edward planned accordingly. Maybe Alice's friend knew a bit more, but he was sure the girl had something else to do. He thought about calling Carlisle, but then he resolved it would be worthless. Carlisle would find a way to forgive Emmett or even praise his commitment to work instead of noticing Emmett's indifference.

He was so disturbed and angry that he didn't notice the little gift Felix left on the floor. Until he was at the gym.

"What's this awful smell?" Edward was sniffing around when suddenly he took a look to the sole of his sneakers. "Shit!" He literally meant it. "Felix! What's wrong with you?"

xxx

Bella was in a horrible mood when she came to the apartment the next morning.

"That idiot Newton! 'Sorry Bella, but Miss Mallory is better qualified to manage the Volturi's account.' As we didn't see her coming from under his desk." She shook her fist in anger.

This time, even Irina stood quiet watching how Bella almost dropped her bag when she kicked the door open.

"Ah, and don't get me started on Mr. Volturi. I swear he had x-ray eyes and knew the color of my bra!" Bella squeezed her boobs noticing they looked quite good once pushed up together. "Ok, maybe they're worth Mr. Volturi's leer, but it's quite unethical of him to look at them!"

She was so angry that she decided that her usual routine wouldn't work.

"I'm so mad!" She was undecided, as the punching bag promised a fast release of her anger, but the rowing machine meant a more satisfying release. "Damn men!"

She almost yelled 'Move bitch!' along with the song while thinking of Aro Volturi and his twitching wandering hands while two pairs of eyes looked at her behind the glass wall of the gym. "Sorry guys." She stopped the music and walked to the door of the gym. "I'm sure you miss Alice and Emmett and here I am, upsetting you with my problems." She scratched Irina's ear and patted Felix's head. "Now, I'm on my tightest shorts and my cutest sports bra, you know why?" She cooed to the poor animals who found her change of mood puzzling. "Well, today I was ignored for promotion. Instead, they chose the girl with the biggest and more accessible assets and my confidence took such a blow that I want to make sure I know I'm not only intellectually capable but that I am better equipped than the said girl so it was only her eagerness to offer those assets that made her get the promotion."

She closed the glass door and went back to her angry song:

"Move bitch, get out the way  
Get out the way bitch, get out the way"

Bella was sporting a deranged smile thinking of the many ways she would deflate Lauren Mallory's lopsided implants when a noise startled her. She looked around, stopping the music, but Felix and Irina were still sitting in front of the glass doors. Maybe she imagined the noise?

She was about to play her angry song when a handsome man entered the room.

"Aghhh!" Bella screamed and started to throw whatever she found to the stranger handsome man. A yoga mat, her bottle of water, a little bag of kleenex...

The poor man just covered his head with his hands and ran to stop the beautiful crazy girl before she reached the barbell rack. The smallest of those things was five pounds!

"Miss Swan?" Edward asked, fearing for his physique.

Bella stopped and tilting her head asked, "Mr. Cullen?"

Both were wondering in their heads "Oh my God!"

* * *

Well, they finally met. What do you think?

In case I don't have the chance to upload the next chapter, I want to wish you an excellent 2020. May the next year will be full of blessings and good things coming to you. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Do you ever think of how long an instant lasts?

It's different for everyone and every instance. For Edward, it was the time it took him to look from head to toe the beautiful and slightly wacky young woman who stood to gaze at him, mouth agape and wriggling hands. It was the moment he realized that despite being surrounded all the time by remarkably stunning women that somehow made him indifferent to their allure, this was the first woman in so much time that intrigued him.

For Bella, well, she was incapable of hiding her surprise; because, in her mind, she pictured Alice's uncle as someone who already reached the senior discount at Paul's dinner. Hence, reconciling that image to the handsome man in front of her was, well, troubling.

Once the shock diminished, Edward knew he had to explain why he was at the apartment in the morning. If only Alice's friend weren't so attractive.

"Miss Swan, sorry for coming so early, but yesterday Emmett called, and I wanted to..." Edward was internally berating himself for not leaving a note. "Yesterday Emmett called to the house line and," he sighed. Why did this girl get him flustered? "Well, he won't be back soon. And he also asked us to check on some equipment that he had delivered here." He was pulling his hair, closing his eyes because Miss Swan had a tight curvaceous body barely covered, and somehow, despite his general opinion of Alice's friends, he found himself very, very, attracted to the young woman.

Bella wasn't indifferent to Edward at all. Sadly, Bella wasn't equipped with an internal filter, and the first thing that came out of her mouth was, "You're not sixty-four?"

"What?" Edward was puzzled by her question. Did he look that old?

"Sorry," Bella dropped the little towel she was about to throw to him, "you say that Emmett isn't coming back? So we have to come here... for how long?" She whispered the last part as she didn't want Felix or Irina upset. Those poor animals were already missing Alice and Emmett, being a tad bit of a brat whenever she was at the apartment.

"He said they were filming in a remote area, with no means of communication at all." He doubted that the area was as remote as Emmett claimed, but his concerns about Emmett's honesty had to wait. "It seems that we will be watching over Irina and Felix for a bit more time." Edward pulled his hair, like every time he was nervous. "Why did he call the landline? Doesn't he have one of these?" He shook his cell phone, wondering why Emmett didn't call Alice or this girl.

"Oh! Emmett tends to lose his phones. He gets a bit distracted when he's working." Bella wasn't prone to explain how many times she found twenty messages in her house phone with Emmett asking a few favors after losing his phone. Even Alice got mad at the number of phones Emmett lost the past year! No need to explain to her uncle one of Emmett's flaws when he seemed already angry. "But he always manages to let us know if something happens!" She said, trying to excuse Emmett to Alice's uncle.

Bella was aware of how much Alice's valued her uncle's opinion. Alice found her parents stiff and loved her uncle, viewing him as the man who succeeded in life without following the family's strict rules, the one who proved that art was worth and followed his dreams. Just like Alice was following hers with some success. Sure, Bella measured success on a different scale to Alice. Coming from a different environment, Bella was used to having her parent's support. Hell, she was the fourth in her family to have a university degree, making her parents proud of her. But college education was a minimum required requisite for Alice.

"Well, he was sure to keep us waiting for his equipment. Do you have a problem coming here every day next week?" Edward asked, hoping she would agree.

Bella hesitated for a second, who knew what the next would entail? But then, who would care for the pets? And what if there were a chance she would find Alice's uncle coming again?

"Sure."

xxxx

The brief encounter with Alice's uncle gave Bella something else to think about, forgetting all about Lauren and her promotion at work. Why was he so handsome? Sure, Mr. Carlisle Cullen was an attractive man, with the aura of Kevin Costner. But his 'Hollier than thou' attitude, paired with his lack of interest on what Alice really wanted, diminished whatever charm the old man had. But Alice's uncle was on a different level. Sure, he was a bit of a mess. Not only for leaving a bottle of water rolling and spilling on the gym floor but the way he pulled his hair while giving her the bad news on Emmet's no return. Did he know how much she wanted to be the one pulling his hair? And the man sure knew how to fill his jeans.

When she arrived at the office, Michael Newton was waiting for her in her cubicle, with a box of donuts and a steaming cup of coffee.

"Bella! You're finally here!" Michael wasn't known for his subtlety or his empathy with his coworkers. "I brought you this." He pushed the box and the hot mug to Bella's empty hands.

"Oh, hi, Mike." Bella was still confused about why she found Mr. Cullen so attractive. Was it his hair? The way his biceps looked when flexed? Or those reddish locks, ready to be touched?

"I'm sure you're as glad as I am for Lauren's promotion," this suddenly took Bella out of her lustful thoughts. It was the first warning.

Michael, utterly blind to Bella's reaction, continued with his tirade. "So, while I'm sure she will make us proud as soon as she gets used to her new tasks, she'll need help with the things she left unfinished." Michael tried what he called his charming smile.

Bella was berating herself. She usually would know Mike wasn't in her cubicle waiting for small talk. Still, the thought of green eyes and reddish hair were enough to distract her from stopping and denying him any outrageous petition of extra work to help her other failing coworkers before it even came out of his mouth.

"So, I thought that maybe you could help us with the Volturi account."

His last two words repeated like an echo. The Voturi account? The job she was hunting for so long? The one that made her sleeplessness nights worthwhile if she only got one like that?

If he only dared to look at Bella's glare, but Michael was a coward. "You know, Lauren will help with the business meetings and the planning. But, I remembered you asked to help, and well, this is your chance to work with Mr. Volturi." He smiled and tried to make it look like he was offering a privilege to Bella.

"There's this little bit of a mess with the databases he brought us."

He should have known better.

Bella was trying to keep a smiling face. "Oh, Michael, I'm so sorry. I have so much work to finish already, with the annual closing and all the reports I must fill." She was so tempted to throw the coffee cup to him. "I'm sure you'll find that Lauren is an expert managing a giant mess of a database."

And she pushed Michael to the next cubicle. Not with the donuts. These, she deserved.

* * *

Hi! Sorry for taking so long. I'm working on the annual closing and the myriad of reports I have to present to our local authorities. No, I'm not an accountant, I'm an actuary, but my work has a lot to do with accounting. Someone asked :)

I can say that this chapter was brought to you by Dior's new ad. But, if I'm honest, the ad supplied material for the rest of the story ;)


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